Ministry of Finance
Every sector that is critical for India’s growth story has seen reform : Prakash Javadekar
Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar has said the clarion call of self reliance or ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’, followed by a series of historic steps taken over a period of five days, will be remembered by as a turning point in India’s history.
Reacting to the stimulus package announced by the Finance Minister in five tranches, Shri Javadekar said “ a crisis tests the top leadership of a country in more ways than one. In this test, India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have set an example by acting early and acting decisively.” He further stated that “transformative leadership is one which not only grapples with the immediate challenge but also prepares the country to emerge stronger than before.”
Shri Javadekar observed that almost every sector that is critical to India’s growth story has seen reform. For the poor, street-vendors and migrant labourers, the drivers of India’s growth, a number of measures have been announced. From One Nation One Ration Card to free food grains to all migrants, from interest subvention for MUDRA beneficiaries of the smallest loan size to facilitation of initial working capital for street-vendors, from a boost to MGNREGA allocations to empowering the health and wellness centres, the economic package has laid an emphasis upon strengthening those who are most seriously hit by the economic consequences of COVID-19.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises or the MSME sector is one of the growth engines of India, especially important due to the employment intensive nature of the sector. The Rs 3 lakh crore credit guarantee to MSMEs at concessional interest rates, to be given automatically without any collateral comes as a booster dose to MSMEs.
A peculiarity of the existing agriculture marketing model was that both consumers and farmers got a raw deal while middlemen walked their way to the banks. With the changes to Essential Commodities Act, freedom to farmers to sell their produce to whoever they want, Rs 1 lakh crore investment into farm-gate infrastructure and a push towards bringing farming and industry together, agriculture has been truly made pro-farmer.
On the other hand, universally lauded reforms in key sectors such as coal, mining, defence, aviation and space have shown the reformist bent of the government. Combine this with the massive liquidity measures taken by the RBI earlier this year and a massive Rs 20 lakh crore economic package has taken shape as the vehicle for India’s post-COVID growth.
The earliest relief package announced by the government was the Rs 1.7 lakh crore worth Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for the poor. Already, over 39 crore beneficiaries have received financial assistance worth almost Rs 35,000 crores. This includes over 8 crore farmers who received Rs 2,000 in their accounts and over 20 crore Jan Dhan account-holding women who received the first and second instalments of assistance. Under PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana 80 crore poor people are covered under NFSA, given 5 kg food grain per person and 1 kg pulses per family. These are reaching people directly without any leakages.
Among the most important steps of the government is the raising of the borrowing limit of states raised from 3% of Gross State Domestic Product to 5%. This ensures an extra Rs 4 lakh crore for the states.
Log on to www.pib.nic.in for complete information about the Stimulus Package.
MD/PKFollow us on social media: @PIBMumbai /PIBMumbai /pibmumbai pibmumbai[at]gmail[dot]com
(Visitor Counter : 462